Prevailed Upon to Marry

by Isabelle Mayfair

  I smiled at the remark. “Thank you, Kate.” I looked back at my reflection and stifled a nervous gulp at the low neck of my bodice. “You do not think it is too…” I waved my hand over my body.

  “You look just what you are, Mrs Darcy. You are a new bride, and it is only right that you should be the most beautiful woman in the ball. I think we say we have succeeded in that tonight.”

  I smiled at her and looked at the mirror again, marvelling at how well the colour became me. What would Darcy say when he saw me? How would he look at me? My pulse quickened as I imagined his response.

  There was a knock on the door, and I heard that deep voice from the other side.

  “May I come in?”

  My heart pounded. I nodded at Kate.

  Darcy walked into the room and stopped in his tracks when he saw me. His eyes ran up and down my body, drinking in every part of me. His eyes lingered for a moment at my neckline. I tried not to shift like a schoolgirl, but I wondered what he was thinking. His expression gave nothing away. Was he pleased? Did he think the neck too low or that I dressed inappropriately? I could not tell. But then he walked towards me, and I could see a flame in his eyes.

  “You look beautiful, Mrs Darcy. As I knew you would.”

  “Thank you, sir. I must give credit to Georgiana. Yellow is my usual favourite colour, but she steered me away from it and persuaded me to choose this one instead. You should thank her.”

  “I will thank her. But she cannot take all the credit.” Darcy’s eyes drank me in again, lingering on my curves. Something warm burned inside me as his gaze caressed me. There was something thrilling about seeing such a proper gentleman become so… ungentlemanly. What would it be like if he ever gave full reign to that? Something inside me fluttered at the thought.

  “You wish to see me, sir?” My voice cracked a little.

  Darcy’s eyes were still dark, having deepened into almost black as he looked at me. “Forgive me, yes.” His voice was deeper than usual. “I have a gift for you. It was my mother’s. I think it will suit you.”

  Darcy opened the box, and I gasped as I saw the diamond necklace nestling on its fat cushion. The diamonds glistened in the candlelight. I raised my eyes to meet my husband’s.

  “Will you allow me?”

  I nodded and turned so he could clasp it around me. His warm hands brushed my neck, and I shivered at the unfamiliar pleasure. As he closed the clasp, he allowed his hands to rest there for just a moment. I almost forgot myself as I sighed and closed my eyes to enjoy his touch. When I turned around to him again, he was standing very close to me, looking down at me. I bit my lip as I struggled to control my response. I knew he was performing because Kate was there, but my god what a performance it was. I could almost be as convinced as anyone as he looked at me now as if he would eat me with a spoon. He looked at me, like a man besotted. Like a man in love. I never realised he was such an actor.

  “Does it please you?” I asked with a smile.

  “I think you know it does.” His voice was still low. I heard Kate clear her throat. I glanced at her to see her face burning red though she smiled. Poor girl. She must have felt awkward in the presence of two people who appeared as though they were barely restraining themselves.

  Georgiana was waiting for us in the drawing-room, and she rose from her chair with a gasp as I entered. She pressed her hands over her mouth she took in the dress.

  “Elizabeth, you look beautiful. It exceeds even my expectations. You look so lovely, does she not, Brother?”

  “She does.” Darcy’s eyes were still fixed me as if he could not get enough of me. He was an excellent actor.

  “I must thank you, Georgiana. If it were not for you, I would not have chosen this material. You have quite an eye, my dear.”

  Georgiana blushed with pleasure. She wore a simple white dress as became a young girl not yet out in society. She looked beautiful in all her simplicity, an innocent youngster with her whole life ahead of her. I felt a rush of affection for her as she smiled at me.

  “Well, shall we go?” Darcy offered me his hand as we walked out to the carriage.

  The Earl of Matlock’s house was only several streets away in Mayfair. It was a huge imposing building several times the size of Darcy’s, though I thought Darcy’s showed more real taste.

  His aunt and uncle came forward to greet us with warm smiles. They were a handsome couple in their fifties, and the Earl had a look of Darcy about him.

  “Welcome to the family, my dear,” said Lady Matlock. “You must forgive us for not having visited sooner. I very much wished to, but my husband suggested we leave you alone for a few days. I am so glad you came that we might meet you here.”

  “I am delighted to be here, Lady Matlock. It is a pleasure to meet you.”

  I felt a rush of relief at such a warm welcome. I had been unsure of what to expect. Considering how aloof Darcy had been, and the stories I heard of Lady Catherine, I had good reason to fear the Matlocks would be the same, considering they ranked higher than either.

  But they put my fears to rest. They were warm, friendly, people with no false airs and with a humble, down-to-earth demeanour. Their sons came to greet us. The eldest, John, was all smiles and with a charm that reminded me of Wickham. He welcomed me to the family and congratulated Darcy on his excellent choice in bride, but being the heir, he was in much demand. We spoke little before he had to move away to dance with the other young ladies in the room. But as I watched the daughters and mothers surround him, I could not feel too much sympathy for him. He seemed to enjoy it. A man as reserved as Darcy would not have accepted it so lightly. I looked up at my tall, handsome husband and thought how often he must have endured something similar and how little pleasure it would have brought him.

  I turned to be introduced to the youngest son, Richard. Colonel Fitzwilliam was a tall, friendly man with a pleasing countenance, though not as handsome as Darcy. He was lively and smiled a great deal more than his cousin.

  “I must tell you how happy I am to meet you, Mrs Darcy,” he said. “You cannot imagine how shocked I was when I learned Darcy was married. I wondered what sort of lady had captured the heart of my proud cousin.”

  I laughed. “I hope I do not disappoint, sir. I am more shocked than anyone. When I started this month, I had no notion that I would be the wife of Mr Darcy by the end.”

  “I suppose none of us knows when we might find love.” The colonel smiled. I smiled and nodded in agreement as Darcy came to stand beside me. Fitzwilliam shook his hand and congratulated him once again.

  “I hope you will find the same happiness in marriage as I have,” said Darcy with a smile as he stood next to me, his arm pressed against me. “It is the finest feeling in the world, Richard.”

  “I am the youngest son of an earl, so my chances are small.” Fitzwilliam grinned. “But I remain hopeful. So, is marriage as wonderful as you two make it look?”

  I looked up at Darcy, who was smiling down at me gently. His eyes were warm. “So far, it has answered all my expectations.”

  I remembered the appearance we were keeping up, and I smiled as I pressed closer to him.

  “I suppose we are married now, as we have no choice but to endure one another, do we not, sir? It is most trying, Colonel Fitzwilliam, but once you are pledged to another, you are stuck with them for better or for worse. I shall have to tolerate your cousin as best I can.”

  Richard laughed and clapped Darcy’s shoulder. “Well done, Darcy. You have chosen a lady who can teach you to laugh and keep you on your toes. My cousin is an excellent man, Mrs Darcy, but he has always lacked having someone to laugh at him and tease him out of his seriousness. I think you will be wonderful for him.”

  “If teasing is what Mr Darcy needs, I can promise him that in abundance.”

  “She can. There was nothing my wife enjoys more than teasing me. Her wit and sense of humour are one of the many things I find so enchanting about her.” He looked at me and ran a finger alo
ng my arm. “I knew I wanted to marry her within weeks of meeting her.”

  I was tempted to add a sharp retort to remind him of exactly what he thought of me within weeks of our meeting, but I would not do so. I would engage with him and enjoy the play-acting if nothing else. He was at least trying to make an effort.

  “I wish I could say the same return, but it was some time before I returned your cousin’s feelings. But when I changed, I did so most heartily.”

  “Darcy, would you mind if I danced with your wife for the first two dances?”

  “I have engaged my wife for those dances, Richard. You may have her afterwards if I can bear to part with her.”

  “He is ungenerous, is he not Mrs Darcy? He has bought the most beautiful woman here to the ball, and he refuses to share with anyone.”

  “You must not hold it against a newly married couple, sir. We find it hard to be apart from one another.”

  “I am envious. I hope someday that I feel the same way about my bride as you do about one another.”

  30

  I smiled at him as Darcy led me away to join the line of couples who had formed down the middle of the floor. A word from Darcy’s aunt and we moved to the top where we would open the dancing. Everyone watched us, their eyes bright with curiosity to see Darcy’s new wife. Whether I might have wished it, I was forced to smile at my husband. As the dance began, and we came close together, I whispered to him “You are an excellent actor, sir.”

  Darcy looked at me in confusion. “Actor?”

  “Yes. You have convinced everyone. I could not ask for a finer performance.”

  “Oh, yes. Thank you, wife.”

  “I did not know you had it in you to offer such a fine performance. I thought you could deceive no one yet you are succeeding so admirably.”

  “Yes, I find it surprisingly easy.” He paused as we switched sides in the set. “And what of you? Do you find it easy to keep up your performance? Or do you find it a trial to pretend to be in love with me?”

  Darcy’s eyes were particularly keen. I felt he was testing me, but I could not be sure how.

  “I have always enjoyed playacting,” I said in a hesitant voice. “And with such a fine fellow player, it is not as arduous as I expected. I do not find it to be such a burden, no.”

  “Then I am glad I am providing you with such enjoyment.”

  I inclined my head though I felt wrong-footed by his words. My instinct told me he was displeased somehow, but I could not think of a reason why. Did he want me to find it difficult? Did he perhaps consider it a flaw in my character that I could enjoy what was after all his idea to do? I did not find it difficult because being around my husband aroused strange feelings in me that puzzled and confused me. I felt drawn to him in a way I did not even feel with Wickham. When he touched me, something warm lit up inside me, and I found it hard to look away from him. But I could not confess it to him. What would he think if he knew our masquerade was fooling me? He would think less of me if he knew I could not find the line between reality and the fiction we had chosen.

  “Smile, Mrs Darcy,” he murmured into my hair as he drew me close. “All eyes are on us tonight. And I take a particular delight in looking at you when you smile.”

  I tilted my face up to look at him, smiling brilliantly. “Do you?”

  Darcy’s eyes were deep. “I do. Your whole face lights up when you smile. Do you know that? Your eyes sparkle with more brilliancy. I love to look upon you when you do it.”

  “You are well-practised in making love to a woman, sir,” I said, feeling a little breathless. “For all your proclaimed awkwardness, you seem to know just what to say to a lady to take her breath away. It is a rare gift but one you have in abundance. Are you so well-practised then?”

  The words were out before I knew it. I bit back a gasp of horror and cursed my stupidity. Why on earth would I ask such an intrusive question and one which I did not wish to know the answer to? Something about Darcy made it hard for me to think straight, and I did not know if I cared for the feeling.

  Darcy was frowning. “Is that what you think? That I have been with many women and I have become practised in saying words I do not mean?”

  “I know little about your former life,” I reminded him.

  The dance came to a close. Darcy bowed to me, but as he rose, he murmured, “I do not know whether to be flattered or offended, madam, but I do not think I care that you see me in such a light.”

  “I thought most men liked to boast of their experience and conquests,” I said a little daringly.

  “Not to their wives, and I am not most men.”

  “Fitzwilliam.”

  I almost grimaced at the sound of the familiar voice, one I had nearly forgotten about in the past week. I did not know they had invited her. But of course, I should have realised. If Abigail grew up with Darcy, she must know the Matlocks.

  Darcy turned at once at the sound of her voice. I tried not to notice the odd look on his face as he regarded Amelia. She wore a deep purple dress as became a lady in her stage of mourning. But she wore it like a queen. Her flaming hair piled on top of her head and her loose curls framed her face, making her look like an angel. Her cheeks were flushed becomingly, and her blue eyes sparkled.

  “Oh, I am sorry,” she said in a regretful voice as she looked between Darcy and I. “I did not mean to interrupt you. I should have known better than to come between the first public dance of a husband and wife.”

  Darcy shook his head at once. I felt a flush of irritation.

  “You did not interrupt us. We had already finished dancing. No apology is necessary.”

  Amelia gave me a sweet smile then looked up at Darcy with expectant blue eyes.

  “How is William?” Darcy asked. His tentative tone suggested he almost dared not speak the boy’s name out loud.

  “He is well.” Amelia dropped her eyes in a becoming manner. “He speaks of you, you know. He was quite taken with you after your visit.”

  “Was he?” Darcy’s voice was almost mesmerised. I wanted to elbow him in the ribs to take that look off his face, but I would not give either of them the satisfaction. To think, that week of married bliss had allowed me to put all thoughts of Amelia and William out of my mind. I had allowed myself to believe I had imagined everything; the strange tension between them, the way William looked so familiar and far older than he should. I was a fool to think I could escape the knowledge for so long. My heart sank as I recalled what Darcy had said about never indulging himself in cheap, tawdry affairs. If he loved Amelia, there was every chance he did not consider their relationship to be cheap and tawdry. It had been a true love match for him until they were prevented from being together. They had conceived little William in love. And judging by the strange look that came over Darcy’s face — a face that so rarely betrayed its true feelings — his passion for her had not subsided.

  But what was I to do? He was my husband. We would spend the rest of our lives together, no matter how little either of us liked it. I would have to stand on the sidelines and watch whatever happened, and there was little I could do about it. All at once, I felt a rush of rage at the helplessness of my situation. Refusing to stay and watch my husband stare spellbound at another woman a moment longer, I turned and stalked away.

  Colonel Fitzwilliam came towards me with a smile, holding two glasses of punch.

  “Need an escape, do you? I do not blame you. I am not an enthusiast of these affairs.”

  “You do not care for dancing?” I asked as I accepted a glass.

  Fitzwilliam took a sip and looked out over the ballroom. “I am fond of dancing as anyone. No, I mean these affairs at my parents’ house. The creme de la creme of London society, or so I am told. And yet I have little patience for most of them. They come here to be seen and to flaunt and posture and increase their standing in society.”

  I looked at him in surprise. “But this is the world you are from. You must be used to it. Perhaps you even partake in
it more than you realise. How could you help it?”

  Fitzwilliam pretended to shudder. “Heaven forbid. I would hate to think I am one of this crowd. No, while I think well of my parents and my brother, I cannot care for the people they invite — present company excepted, of course,” he added with a gallant smile.

  “There are a few people here I have met,” I said. I pressed my lips to the wine glass and tried not to look affected. “Amelia is one. She came to the house to meet me only a day or two after Darcy and I were married. I understand she is an old friend of Darcy’s.”

  Fitzwilliam’s eyes wandered to where Amelia stood speaking with a gentleman I did not know. The candlelight picked up the silver tissue in her gown, giving her an almost ethereal glow. I could not see Darcy anywhere. Perhaps he has gone to fetch her wine, a childish part of me thought with resentment.

  “Yes, they grew up near one another,” said Fitzwilliam. His voice was clipped and cool. His eyes on her were filled with dislike.

  “You do not have high regard for her,” I observed.

  Fitzwilliam blinked and looked down at me as if he had forgotten I was there.

  “Forgive me. I did not mean to be so pointed,” he said quickly.

  “But I am right?” I pressed gently.

  Fitzwilliam took a long draft of his drink, draining the glass in one swallow.

  “It is not fair for me to speak ill of a lady you have not yet formed your own opinion of,” he said. “I have not known her in many years, and anything she may have done should be relegated to the past. I hope you will not allow any old grudges of mine to influence your opinion of her, Mrs Darcy.”

  I smiled though my heart felt heavy. “Do not worry about that. I am not as easily influenced as you suppose. I will form my own opinions on the lady.”

  “I am sure you will. And when you have had the chance to do so, I shall be interested in hearing them,” said Fitzwilliam. He put his glass down and bowed to me, holding out his hand. “Now, I do not know what my fool of a cousin is about by leaving you alone, but will you do me the honour of dancing with me? If you do not, I warn you, you will leave me to the mercy of every fortune hunter in this room. And believe me when I tell you there are many of those.”